Before reaching 50 in physique, each point cost 1 million credits.
Now that Blaine's physique was at 100, each additional point cost five times as much—5 million credits per point.
To be honest, it stung.
But what could he do? For the sake of strength, it was worth it. No pain, no gain.
To show his resolve, Blaine directly purchased another 50 points, spending 250 million.
His physique reached another threshold. From this point onward, each additional point would cost 10 million credits.
He glanced at his remaining balance—750 million.
Without hesitation, he spent another 250 million to buy 25 more points.
Now, his updated attributes were:
---
Host: Blaine
Physique: 175
Hunter Level: C
Abilities:
[Diamond Body Lv.5]
[Copying Eye Lv.3]
[Absolute Hit Lv.3]
[HawkEye Lv.3]
[Mind Control Lv.3]
[Shadow Stealth Lv.3]
[Mind Reading]
[Danger Perception]
[Regeneration]
Equipment:
[Hunter Suit (+10)]
[Elemental Bow (+10)]
[White Snake Bow (+5)]
[Tracking Paper Crane (x4)]
Remaining Skill Slots: 1
Balance: 500 million
---
With one skill slot left and a decent balance, Blaine could buy one more ability. But he chose not to—for now. This was the Marvel Universe, after all.
Unpredictable, dangerous, chaotic. Just because things followed canon now didn't mean they'd stay that way.
Saving resources could mean the difference between life and death
---
Not long after Blaine finished his bread, Gali woke up too
Despite Blaine's massive power-ups, she didn't notice anything.
That wasn't because of poor perception—far from it. Gali was still an overpowered, fully maxed-out being across all stats.
Blaine had a theory: No matter how much stronger an ant gets, it's still... just an ant. To someone like Gali, it simply didn't register.
Sometimes the truth hurt.
--
"Gali, can you use magic?" Blaine asked casually, watching her chew on a piece of bread.
The question was a little silly, honestly. Gali could release unlimited energy in various forms and seemed to be omniscient and omnipotent. Of course, she could use magic.
Sure enough, Gali swallowed her bite and nodded. "Definitely."
"Then can you show me some later?" Blaine asked, his eyes lighting up.
Naturally, now that he had the Copying Eye, the first thing he wanted was to observe Gali using some basic magic—even something simple like a magic whip or a dimensional portal would be a good start.
"Sure."
She nodded, smiling.
---
After breakfast, they went out to the villa's backyard.
It wasn't huge—about 100 meters long—but it was plenty big enough for a few low-impact magical demonstrations.
'Copying Eye—activate.
As Blaine looked at Gali, his pupils morphed into red pentagram sigils etched with glowing runes.
"Gali, go ahead and start."
"Okay!"
She turned her head, snapped her fingers—and then…
Everything froze.
The breeze. The grass. The rustling trees. Even birds mid-flight were suspended in the air. The entire world was still.
Except for Blaine and Gali.
"How's that?" she grinned. "Time Stop. Magic."
Blaine's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Seriously? First spell: Time Stop?
The Copying Eye spun rapidly, trying to break down the spell's composition, structure, and power. It struggled mightily.
In the end, it barely managed to extract a fraction of the magic—just enough to maybe stop time within the range of one's palm. Practically useless.
There was no way a Lv.3 Copying Eye could fully comprehend and replicate a reality-bending spell like Time Stop.
Blaine forced himself to calm down.
"Let's… maybe start with normal magic next time?"
Gali pouted. "Okay."
---
What followed was a series of basic elemental spells—fireballs, water spheres, and a few minor tricks. Flashy, but not particularly destructive.
They'd be useful against normal people, but against enhanced individuals or experienced fighters? Useless. Even Blaine's Elemental Bow outclassed them in damage and versatility.
Still, they were fun to learn. Blaine felt like a kid with a new toy, eagerly absorbing each spell with glee.
Then, he asked the question he'd been saving.
"Gali... do you know how to use flight magic?"
His eyes practically burned with anticipation.
Sure, he had ways to fly now—mostly via awkward mechanics or external tools. But real flight? Freely soaring through the skies like a true hero?
That was different.
Flight had always been one of humanity's oldest dreams.
Gali gave a small nod. "Of course."
Then, without using her usual omnipotent energy powers, she rose smoothly into the air.
This time, she was using pure wind-based magic—not superpowers. Blaine could tell.
Flight magic wasn't especially rare or complicated, and his Lv.3 Copying Eye was just strong enough to handle it.
The eye glowed and spun as it analyzed the spell's form, structure, and flow. A few seconds later—success.
Magical knowledge surged into Blaine's mind.
A gust of wind burst beneath him, lifting him effortlessly into the air.
He hovered, then zipped around the sky, laughing.
It was exhilarating.
---
The Copying Eye might not be as absurd as the Jianjigu Eye, which could replicate skills by merely observing them twice—but it was still powerful.
If the Jianjigu Eye was a universal replicator, then the Copying Eye was a specialized magical mimicry engine. Each had its domain.
---
In fact, with training, a skilled Copying Eye user could go even further: modifying copied spells, customizing them, even creating entirely new ones.
Inspired, Blaine experimented by fusing the flight magic with the fireball spell he had just learned. With a bit of effort, he manifested two flaming wings behind his back. They looked like they belonged to a phoenix.
As he flapped them, sparks flew off dramatically. They gave no real lift—but damn, did they look cool.
Was the effect practical?
Not at all.
But did it look awesome?
Absolutely.
Bluffing value: 10/10.
*************************************
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